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User comments for Crystal Circus and Strawberry SAC
The album contains some fantastic, creative music. Too bad it wasn't released at the time. the Crystal Circus moniker was conjured up solely for the album. A much better band name than the derivative Strawberry SAC, which the "In Relation" 45 was released under in 1968.
Band Members (Left to Right) are:
Gary Solomon - flute/sax/vocals
Stage name Gary Solo. Member of The Marauders prior to Strawberry SAC. Also managed Indescribably Delicious and played on sessions which comprise their album. Had an independently released Solo album out in the early 1980's.
Greg Munford - rhythm guitar/vocals
Formerly with Shapes Of Sound, who released a single on All-American in '67. Sang lead on SAC's megahit "Incense & Peppermints".
Bob Feldman - bass/vocals
Previously a member of The Minutemen, who had a residency at Pandora's Box. Hosted the TV special Ripoff. Later ran a talent agency for child actors. Bob's son Corey achieved fame as an actor in films such as The Goonies & Stand By Me.
Jack Bielan - keyboards/vibes/vocals
Own group The InMates at the age of 15. Went on to receive a gold record for his arrangements on James Taylor's "Sweet Baby James" LP. Became a staff writer for Motown in the 70's. Toured with Bobby Vinton as keyboardist & conductor, eventually becoming Bobby's producer.
Bruce Turner - lead guitar/vocals
Ex-member of Torrance-based Indescribably Delicious, who released a single ("Brother, Where Are You?") on All-American in 1967. Went on to tour with Wolfman Jack, Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers and soul singer Carla Thomas.
Terry Rae - drums/vocals
A mainstay of Hollywood bands for over 2 decades. Some of the groups he has played with are The Driftones (pre-Yellow Payges), The Palace Guard (house band at the Hullabaloo), Sweet Wine, Space, The Flamin' Groovies, Blue Cheer & The Hollywood Stars. After the Strawberry SAC project, formed Strawberry Jam(!) who changed their name to Jamme - check out their excellent album produced by John Phillips.
"Don't Say I Didn't Warn You" was based on a lyric of Jack Bielan's mother, Rose Kaufman.... hence the co-writing credit. Needless to say, Mrs. Kaufman was not a member of the band!
Norma Dunman was a co-writer of Gary Solo's. Nick is a figment of Holmes' imagination, as are all of his writing credits on the album.
Thanks for the information, Matthew! That fills in a lot of gaps. If you don't mind me asking, how do you know all this inside info?
Nicely done, guys. A couple things to add:
1) Bill Holmes never wrote anything on that album - not a word, not a note.
2) With regard to "In Relation", Bob & I wrote it directly as a sound-alike follow-up to "Incense And Peppermints", because Holmes asked for it, and it was the first time Greg's vocal talent was available. (By the way, Greg was - and remains to this day - a lovely man.). I deliberately used the same Farfissa organ sound and guitar sounds as on "Incense" (plus Hammond B-3, which is my first love). I also remember that there was a legitimate vocal coach on the project who knew his stuff and arranged a lot of the harmonies for us. I have a feeling he probably worked with the original group as well.
3) Re "Merry Go Round", Gary had a chorus which I liked a lot. I think Norma Dunman (whom I never actually met) may have contributed to it. I wrote the rest of the words and music. Always liked that song - got a kick out of using calliope on it and the filtered sound of a carnival barker.
The band, which was called "Strawberry Alarm Clock", "Strawberry S.A.C." and "S.A.C" - depending on the time of day and the legal status of whatever bout was being waged regarding the Alarm Clock name, did some memorable t.v. shots - local L.A. shows of the time like "Groovy" and "9th Street West". Also did some shows where we got to know Wolfman Jack - what a hoot!
Looking back all those years on the whole project, especially given that we were all kids, I realize there was some wonderful musicianship in that thrown-together band. Bruce was a terrific guitar player and Terry was a great drummer. Greg was a wonderful writer and his voice on "Incense" was obviously just one of music's magical moments.
A few years ago I had occasion to see the real Alarm Clock band in a reunion concert of sorts in Malibu. They did a great job. Afterwards I felt motivated to write them an email via their website, which I did, apologizing for my role in the whole knock-off band debacle. Of course I had no idea at the time what was really going on, but I'm glad I let them know.
FYI, I found out about the whole Crystal Circus thing by accident on the web. No one ever contacted me, never asked my permission for anything. I tracked Holmes down and asked for some kind of remuneration, and was refused.
Finally, despite never having significantly profited financially, I regard the whole experience as a valuable one, and I'm grateful for it.
I learned a lot about the dark side of the music industry, and how young musicians can be exploited. But more importantly, at 18 I learned a whole lot about the process of recording and working in studios. The engineer was a brilliant guy named Paul Buff, and I was lucky to learn whatever I could from him.
And I did crack-up when I saw my Mom's name listed as a band member on the Crystal Circus credits. She was a wonderful writer in her day, but I doubt she'd have liked wearing psychedelic dresses.
Again guys, nice job on straightening things out. Best of luck to you.
Hey Jack, thanks for adding the extra information. Just out of curiosity, did Holmes give you any specific reason to deny you money?
Interesting experience for you, and an interesting look into the weird history of the ersatz Strawberry Alarm Clock. As you say, it is a fantastic record, whatever its ignoble beginnings!
Thanks for the interest Hoffman.
Check out Hollywood a go go web site for info on many of the bands that played the strip in the 60's.
Thanks Terry! That site's address is http://hollywoodagogo.com. (Beware — it plays music when you load the page; the player is at the bottom and you can just hit pause.)
Jeremy,
After the SAC broke up I went to the local 47 to ask for fees due to us for the session.They stated the studio never reported the event so no money was due.
Funny how that works huh?
Terry
...and I assume you aren't getting anything from recent sales of the album, or the MP3 downloads from Amazon?
Whenever I think of the music business, which I have no direct experience with, I always think of Roger Waters' mid-70s diatribes. Seems like it really is that cutthroat, if you can play drums on an album and not get paid for it...
So Terry is there some satisfaction in just knowing you're on this great music? :D
Jeremy,
No..No money. Just the fun of looking back at those days and listening to the tracks from from tme to time.
Terry
That's a good attitude to have about it! Must be nice to be part of something so good. Thanks for the music!
Where ya been Terry? I'm excited about the new Jamme CD reissue.... and Paul tells me there may even be some live dates ahead.
Highly recommend the album to everyone, personal fave track is "Strawberry Jam Man", the very first tune Strawberry Jam (as they were still known at the time) recorded.
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/nowsounds/artists/jamme.php
Nice hearing from you too Jack. Wonder if Solo is still with us, he's the only member still MIA....
Hey Matt,
Just been woking and enjoying life. I don't do the internet thing for the most part.I like my privacy.
I'm glad you liked the CD. Thanks for the good words.
Terry
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